Tahquitz Canyon

The desert town of Palm Springs backs up against the eastern slope of the San Jacinto mountains. Cahuilla Indians (pronounced ka-we-ah) lived in the mountain's many canyon folds, presumably created by ancient glaciers and/or snow melt running down the mountain. The mountain top is nearly always covered with snow. Today, four of the canyons are open for hiking. We walked the 2-mile loop in Tahquitz Canyon on our second day in the desert.

Previous generations of tourists trashed Tahquitz, resulting in its closure for restoration some years ago. Tahquitz is open again, this time with a $12.50 admission price.

Unlike Palm Springs' other canyons, Tahquitz has no palms--a mystery. Instead, I was surprised to find small groves of Western scyamores (Platanus racemosa). Our visit begins now, turning away from the sprawling desert community.





The grasses growing in every rocky crevice reminded me of the Pennisetum setaceum escaped from resort landscaping and colonizing the Big Island of Hawaii's many lava fields.





















Who wants to see your nasty initials? Yuck.





Note human in red t-shirt for scale.











I like the distribution of clumps of color and size and texture...with the small tree as a natural focal point next to the water feature pond.







Come back soon for Palm Canyon!